Twice Shy by Dame Wren. Naruto and Hinata have returned to Konoha from their three year mission to recruit Sora. Now they must prepare themselves for the upcoming jounin test while Hinata deals with her family problems and Naruto confronts his past.

Naruto
and company exited his new house and started toward Ichiraku's. It
really annoyed him that he couldn't hold Hinata's hand. He was
going to have a hard time getting used to these new restrictions on
their relationship. Perhaps a good helping of ramen would make him
feel better.

"Finally!
I've been dreaming of a good bowl of Ichiraku ramen for years!"
Instant noodles were alright and there was plenty of good food in the
west, but nothing beat Ichiraku ramen.

Postponing
her questions about Naruto's house, Ino steered her interrogation
toward new grounds, "So Naruto, you were telling us about you and
Hinata."

"What's
there to tell? Hinata's great and the best girlfriend ever!"

This
was hardly a satisfactory explanation for Kiba. "What do mean
'What's there to tell'?! Just how did a ramen junky like you
manage to land a hot babe like Hinata!?"

"Yeah,
I thought you'd never get a clue! You just wouldn't take no for
an answer and were completely oblivious to poor Hinata," Sakura
reminisced.

Laughing
Kiba readily recalled, "You never learned no matter how times she
clobbered you. Most people would have gotten a clue after the first
beating, but you just wouldn't give it up."

"Ahah,
yeah I was a complete idiot wasn't I. I knew you didn't like me,
I just-"

"Wait
I didn't mean-"

Naruto
waved it off, "Back then I'd decided I needed a girlfriend. You
were smart and pretty and popular so I thought you'd make a good
girlfriend. Even when you rejected me, I just thought I needed to
work harder and keep trying. Then we were placed on the same team
and I saw that as another opportunity to prove myself to you. I'm
sorry I was such a pain in the neck."

Sakura
was taken aback, "You mean to tell me all that time you didn't
actually have any real feelings for me and I was just some PRIZE to
be won?!"

Somehow
things hadn't changed and Naruto once again found himself edging a
bit too close to a pummeling, "No, no! That's not what-"

Well
acquainted with Sakura's temper, Ino decided to preemptively
restrain Sakura by getting between her and Naruto, "Get out of my
way Ino-pig!" Trying to get around Ino, "How could you play with
my feelings like that!?"

As
Naruto started backing away making exaggerated placation gestures.
Hinata decided a little intervention was needed. Placing a hand on
Sakura's shoulder, "Sakura, he never meant to hurt your feelings.
Besides, you never really liked Naruto that way anyhow? And you're
still good friends despite it all right?"

This
turn of events instantly caught Ino's attention. She hadn't
realized just how smooth Hinata could be. Ino considered it a good
move to simply identify the competition. However, Hinata had
gracefully managed to ask Sakura if she actually had romantic
feelings for Naruto while subtly suggesting that they were simply
good friends all in the space of a few seconds and while playing the
peace maker. Ino wondered whether Hinata had done all this
intentionally or if she was just naturally good at it. If Hinata was
so good, why hadn't she gotten together with Naruto earlier?
Everyone knew how badly she had it for him even before they left.
This was the sort of question that really intrigued Ino.

While
Ino contemplated this turn of events, Naruto took his chance to avoid
a beating and quickly agreed, "Yeah, Yeah! I never wanted to hurt
you or anything!"

Largely
placated, Sakura realized just how conflicted her emotions were over
her favorite idiot, "You're still a giant BAKA!" With that
established the group resumed their course toward Ichiraku's. It
was true she never really had romantic feelings for Naruto. However,
he was one of her closest friends and his unannounced departure came
as a hard blow. Sasuke never really paid any attention to her. At
least Naruto made her feel wanted and he was always eager to help.
Things went from bad to horrible when Sasuke defected to the Sound.
Maybe if Naruto had been there he could have convinced Sasuke to
stay. Maybe he could still find a way to save him. She'd have to
tell him soon, but they deserved peace of mind for a few days didn't
they? Maybe she should have given him chance after all? Hinata
looked so happy with him and what had her feelings for Sasuke ever
brought her but pain.

Capitalizing
on the break in the storm, Ino asked Hinata, "So why did you two
wait a year and a half to get together?"

"A-ano
… well …." The question brought back all sorts of embarrassing
memories such as her inability to confess to Naruto. Hinata was
still sensitive about that. She was rather reluctant to talk those
memories. "W-we were still getting to know Nee-chan … a-and
work-"

Ino
was nothing if not persistent, "Don't tell me he was obsessing
over Sakura that whole time?!"

"I
wasn't obsessing!" yelled Naruto considerably louder than he had
intended. He was rapidly becoming uncomfortable with the direction
the conversation was taking.

Hinata
had begun to slouch and stare at the road one foot in front of her.
That's when she noticed herself putting her forefingers together in
an old nervous habit. She wondered at how easily the old habits
returned. Straightening her posture she looked over at Naruto which
brought a smile to both their faces. Speaking in a more confident
voice, "We had a lot of things to work through first."

Smirking,
Ino continued, "Like Naruto's obsession wi-"

Sakura
had let her friend go long enough, "INO! Give them a break!"

Shino
was happy to simply observe, but like Ino, Kiba wanted details. The
possibility of embarrassing Naruto in front of Hinata was an added
bonus, "I bet Hinata is just covering for Naruto and he's as
oblivious as ever."

"It
wasn't like that Kiba!" Hinata protested.

"Then
Naruto can tell us what it was like," Ino Countered.

The
group had entered a noisy street filled with shops, street side
vendors, and midday shoppers. Fortune once again smiled on Naruto
and he was saved from responding to Ino as Konohamaru sprung out of
the crowd, "Naruto-niichan! Sexy No Jutsu!" and immediately
transformed into shockingly gorgeous brunette clad in nothing more
than a few thin wisps of moister. "Naruto-kun please don't
stare. It's so embarrassing," said the vixen in a silky voice
before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

It
would not be an understatement to say that the show brought the busy
street to a complete halt. Everyone from the shoppers to the stall
owners simply looked on in a silent daze waiting for the blond
shinobi to respond. Kiba simply stared, his thoughts irretrievably
derailed while Shino turned his shocked face toward Naruto, both
eyebrows well above his sunglasses. Sakura and Ino stood frozen in
stunned silence. Udon and Moegi simply waited for Naruto's
evaluation.

While
Hinata was becoming much better at taking the foolery that seemed to
track Naruto in stride, this was simply over the top. "N-Naruto,"
Hinata sputtered in a soft squeak, trying to regain control of her
mind while nervously petting Akamaru.

"Ahahaha!"
With one hand behind his head, Naruto approached his pupil, "That
was pretty good Konohamaru! However, we're too old to be doing
such things anymore." Leaning toward Konohamaru and whispering,
"And you're embarrassing me in front of Hinata, but don't worry
I've got even better jutsus now."

Recovering
from her shock first, Ino whispered her thoughts to Sakura, "I
guess he hasn't just matured physically."

Konohamaru
thought he had heard wrong, "You mean Sakura right?" Naruto
shook his head no. Konohamaru had a puzzled expression on his face
and looked between Hinata, Naruto, and Sakrua several times. "Ah,
you've finally given up on the violent ogre woman!" Naruto would
have stopped Konohamaru from saying such a dangerous thing if he had
seen it coming. Instead, he decided to get out of the way.

Inner
Sakura went from stunned silence to murderous instantly "WHY THAT
LITTLE PUNK! I'LL SHOW HIM VIOLENT!" raged Inner Sakura.
Konohamaru had just enough time for his brain to register the peril
he was in. Taking three quick strides to Konohamaru, Sakura smiled
sweetly, "So I'm a violent ogre woman eh?" She then grabbed
his shoulders and brought her need crashing into his gut. With a
look of sweet satisfaction, Sakura watched the noisy genin crumple to
the ground, gasping for air. Moegi and Udon quickly hid behind
Naruto for protection.

Hinata
knew how physical Sakura could be from all the stories Naruto had
told her, but that had not really prepared her for the real thing,
"Was that really necessary? He's just a kid." Still, she
occasionally found herself jealous of the pink hair kunoichi's
strength and self confidence.

Gesturing
at Hinata, Sakura waved it off. "Ah, he'll be fine in a couple
minutes."

"O-of
course not Sakura-chan!" Naruto thought best for his health not to
give her a hard time. Besides, he was hungry and did not want to
make a bigger scene. Now was the time to placate Sakura. Pushing
her buttons would just get between him and his ramen. With the
exception of her enemies, Sakura would never seriously hurt anyone
anyhow.

Satisfied
that Konohamaru just had the wind forcefully knocked out of him,
Hinata helped him too his feet. Udon and Moegi moved to support
their leader who was still a bit unstable on his feet. Looking over
at Sakura, Udon whispered, "She sure is scary." Moegi was star
struck, "One day I want to be strong like Sakura!"

While
Konohamaru recovered, Naruto and Hinata chatted with the three genin
and gave them a quick overview of their time away. The rest of the
group milled about street, looking at what the street venders were
offering, and chatting with each other.

Konohamaru
confirmed her guess and boasted, "Yeah, but we ditched him hours
ago."

Hinata
smiled and pointed up the street, "Well, isn't that him heading
this way?"

Konohamaru
swore, "Don't tell him you saw us."

Naruto
grabbed Konohamaru by the collar and yanked him to a halt before the
three genin could tear off in a mad dash. "Don't make such a
commotion. He hasn't noticed us yet. Go through that shop and
I'll distract him for you."

Naruto
created three kage bunshin, transformed them into the three genin,
and sent them strolling toward Ebisu. Hopefully, they'd keep him
busy for several minutes before he figured out they were just
bunshin.

:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::

With
the departure of the Naruto's Konoha chapter of little hellions,
the group made their way to Ichiraku's without any further
interruptions.

As
the ramen stand came into sight, Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand,
eliciting a bright smile from her, and rushed the last fifty yards.
Before Kiba could stop him Akamaru had abandoned his side and run
after Hinata.

"Akamaru!"
yelled Kiba, in a half hearted attempt reign in his dog.

From
the outside, Ichiraku's looked nearly the same as years previous
with, perhaps, a bit of aging. Fortunately, they had arrived
somewhat before the midday rush and there were enough stools for
everyone. Naruto and Hinata took their seats and Naruto's stomach
loudly anticipated his favorite food. Akamaru responded with two
quick barks.

With
a confused look on her face Ayame began, "I'm sorry, what is your
…." Naruto was considerably larger than she remembered and
wasn't wearing his trademark orange jumpsuit. However, very few
people had whisker marks adorning their checks and her look of
confusion quickly transformed into one of fond recognition,
"Na-Naruto!? Is that you?"

"Ya,
we just got back last night and I'm dying for a decent bowl of
ramen!"

"You've grown so much I almost didn't recognize you! Stand up
and let me have a good look! Father, Naruto's back!"

"Yes,
I heard. Welcome back Naruto. When you stopped coming by a few
years ago we started to worry. Ayame wanted to storm the Hoka-"

"Father!"

Laughing,
Teuchi continued, "Anyhow, your previous
teacher, Iruka, told us that you had gone on some secret mission and
wouldn't be back for a few years, but that you were safe. Your
ramen will be ready in just a minute. What would your friend like?"

"I'll
have some miso ramen, vegetables, and some dango. Oh, and do you
have something for Akamaru."

"Yeah,
we have some meat scraps he can have."

Joining
Naruto and Hinata, Sakura, Ino, Shino, and Kiba sat down and ordered
as well.

While
they waited for their orders, Naruto and Hinata happily told their
friends a couple abbreviated stories from their time away while
dodging a couple of the more personal questions from Ino. There was
certainly no shortage of things to tell.

When
their ramen arrived, Naruto's friends waited with eager
anticipation to see what he would do. While Naruto found this
attention somewhat odd, he was hungry and just wrote it off. He was
about to happily fall upon his delicious meal like a half starved
slavering fox demon. However, just before wolfing down his meal in a
few swift gulps, Naruto noticed just the slightest hint of
disapproval in Hinata's expression and restrained himself. Instead
he brought a large portion of noodles to his mouth and rapidly
consumed them in what could almost be called a dignified manner.

The
two roommates were stunned. "What have you done to him!?" cried
Sakura. Shocked, Ino blurted, "Unbelievable! She's actually
managed to train him!"

Hinata
didn't expect such a commotion over Naruto's eating habits. She
certainly didn't expect to be given so much credit for it. "I-I
d-didn't do…"

Naruto
didn't see what the big deal was. Looking between his friends he
asked, "What?"

After
a good laugh Kiba couldn't help but give Naruto a hard time, "Maybe
I should ask Hinata for tips on training Akamaru! She sure did a
great job with you!"

Naruto
hadn't noticed Ino's comment, but couldn't miss Kiba's dig.
"Hey! It's not like I was some unruly dog that needed to be
trained!" In a more subdued voice, "Hina-chan and Neechan just
helped a little with table manners and stuff."

"It
is quite normal for people to mature through their teenage years. It
has been three years," Observed Shino.

Naruto's
ego was still fairly sensitive when it came to social aptitude and he
immediately latched onto Shino's suggestion. "Yeah yeah! What
Shino said! I've just matured!"

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," Sakura allowed. The two
roommates and Ayame, who had been watching as well, dissolved into
fits of giggles.

Naruto
was about to return his ramen when Hinata placed a hand on his
shoulder. Turning him toward her she fed him one of her dango, "You
need some variety." This elicited a reinvigorated burst of giggles
from the other girls and riotous laughter from Kiba. Neither Hinata
nor Naruto cared. Naruto found it hard to refuse Hinata anything and
Hinata couldn't help her practical side or her nurturing instinct.

It
was a good minute or two before Sakura, Ino, and Kiba could start
eating for all the laughter. Naruto largely restricted himself to
yes and no answers between breaths and refilling his mouth with
ramen. Hinata, not having the staggering appetite of her boyfriend,
answered most of the questions for the both of them. After a half
hour, everyone had largely finished their lunch and they were
nibbling what was left. That is with the exception of Naruto. He
had thoroughly cleaned eight bowls of ramen and was stuffed.

Shikamaru
was relieved to find his friends at Ichiraku's. He didn't like
having to hunt people down. Approaching his girlfriend, he spoke her
name and placed a hand on her shoulder, "We're needed over at
Intelligence."

Ino
was enjoying herself too much, "I'm not done with my lunch yet.
I'm sure it can wait a bit."

Naruto
greeted his lazy friend, "Hey Shikamaru, how's it going?"

"Not
bad, but I'd prefer to be getting work done instead of running all
over Konoha looking for Ino."

Smiling,
Naruto said, "We were hungry."

"Yeah,
I walked all the way to your house only to find no one was home.
Then I had to walk all the way here."

Naruto
was glad he didn't have to look much to find them, "Oh, good
thing you found us so quickly. How'd you know we'd be here."
Ino sighed. Naruto obviously didn't remember how good Shikamaru
was at figuring things out.

Shino
answered for Shikamaru, "He probably stopped by your house first
and then came by here after seeing that no one was home. It is lunch
time and he probably knew you got in late. Given your well known
love for Ichiraku ramen and enormous appetite, this was the next
logical place to look." A slight nod from Shikamaru confirmed
Shino's speculations.

Shikamaru
was just too lazy to fuss with Ino and decided to get right to the
point, "Ino there's plenty of time for you learn the inner
secrets of Naruto and Hinata's relationship. They aren't going
anywhere for at least a couple months."

In
an irritated voice, Ino conceded, "Fine. What could be so
important that I can't even finish my lunch?"

Shikamaru
didn't want to listen to an irritated Ino on their way to
Intelligence Corp's either, "Something to do with some visitors
from the west." Having worked with her for years, Shikamaru knew
just how to bait the blond. Ino found foreign visitors fascinating
and people from the west were some of the most foreign foreigners in
Konoha.

Ino
took her dango and got up from her stool, "Naruto, Hinata, it was
nice visiting you. I'll see you two later. I still expect a tour
of your house." Sharing her remaining dango with Shikamaru, who
probably skipped lunch out of laziness, she waved good bye to her
friends and left.

Hinata
figured it was probably a good time to head back to Naruto's house.
"Shall we get supplies for the house and head back?" The rest
of the group concurred.

Naruto
pulled out Gama-chan, his frog wallet, and started to dig through it
when Sakura stopped him. "I'll pay for you two."

Hinata
protested, "We can't accept-," but Sakura cut her off, "It's
no problem. You guys can pay next time. Besides seeing you two is
worth every yen."

While
Sakura paid, Naruto thanked Teuchi and gave Ayame a
hug bringing a slight blush to her face.

:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::

The
walk back to Naruto's house was uneventful. Naruto continued his
stories of their time away. Hinata helped with the gaps in his
memory and demurred at some of the larger exaggerations made on her
behalf. Sakura, Kiba, and Shino were captivated and without Ino
there to steer the conversation toward more sensitive topics both
Naruto and Hinata felt quite at ease. On the way, they stopped to
get supplies for Naruto's new house. Naruto hadn't realized just
how much stuff he needed. Just the cleaning supplies were too much
for him to carry. Thankfully, there were five of them.

Setting
part of his load down, Naruto opened the front door to his house to
let everyone in. There was certainly a lot of work to do.
Fortunately, he and Hinata knew a plethora of cleaning jutsu.

Naruto
carried his supplies inside and put them down on the floor, "Uh …
just leave everything on the floor for now I guess."

Everyone
left the stuff they were carrying in a big pile and Naruto started
the tour. "Well you've already seen this room and the kitchen so
why don't we start with the tour with the basement." With that,
Naruto began showing his friends around. Sakura wanted to have a
better look at the kitchen and the girls spent some time examining it
while the guys milled about. Akamaru found everything fascinating
and Naruto worried he would mess something up. Aside from running
into everyone in his excitement at exploring a new house, he was well
behaved. After looking around the basement, Naruto showed them
around the second and third floors. He narrowly avoided showing his
friends the baby room by going on about how great his parent's
bedroom and bath were. Everyone was surprised to learn the house had
a rooftop garden.

Naruto
lead them up the spiral staircase and onto the roof. Kiba couldn't
help but laugh, "What were you worried about? Akamaru would be
doing you a favor by digging up all these weeds."

As
Akamaru sprinted from one plant to the next, Naruto shouted, "They're
MY weeds dog breath! I don't want some scraggly mutt making a mess
for me to clean up."

Shino
seemed unusually interested in the garden and was quietly examining
some of the plants. Sakura and Hinata loved it and immediately
started chatting about how best to fix it up.

After
arguing with Kiba a bit more, Naruto noticed Akamaru chewing on some
of the weeds and ran over to stop him, "Hey stop eating that fur
ball!"

Kiba
didn't see what the big deal was. "What do you care? It's
just some weed! You're going to get rid of it anyhow."

Naruto
felt committed, "Maybe I like that weed!"

Hinata
walked over to Akamaru and took the plant from his mouth, "Akamaru
stop that."

Sakura
had followed her to continue their chat and noticed something
familiar about the plant. Bending down to take a closer look, she
tried to recall if she'd seen the plant before.

Before
Kiba and Naruto resumed their argument, Shino spoke up, "Not all of
these plants are weeds. I have identified a couple plants that are
fairly rare."

That
was when Sakura remembered the plant she was looking at, "Naruto
you're forbidden from touching any of these plants without Hinata
or myself around." That particular plant was used in certain kinds
of healing salves. Tsunade had had to import some from the west a
while ago. How did such a plant end up as a weed in a house formally
owned by Yondaime? "Some of these plants are hard to get and until
we've identified them all I don't want you killing them."

Naruto
donned his pouting face, "Who says I'd kill them?"

Shino
explained, "It is probably better to leave the plants alone until
they are identified. They have survived on their own for years.
Waiting a few more days won't hurt them and we can determine how
best to care for them during that time. Do you mind if I take some
samples?"

"Uh,
sure, no problem," he said, rubbing his chin. He would need to get
some gardening supplies and a few tools.

The
argument between Kiba and Naruto was entirely forgotten. Everyone
spent another hour talking about the garden, the various plants, how
best to organize and clean everything up, and other domestic stuff.

With
the day approaching mid afternoon Shino and Kiba left to do their
daily training. Kiba asked Naruto to join them, but Naruto still had
a house to clean and reports to write. Shino told Naruto he would
help identify the plants and let him know as soon as he had any
results. Before leaving, Kiba gave Hinata lung crushing hug that
would have earned him a beating from Naruto if Hinata hadn't
intervened. Both of her former teammates expressed their heartfelt
happiness as having her back and insisted that she tell them before
leaving again or at least leave a note. Hinata felt somewhat ashamed
at having left with telling them. They had been quite worried.

:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::

After
Shino and Kiba left, Naruto remembered the gift he had been meaning
to give Sakura. Digging through his stuff, he finally found it, "Ah,
here it is." It had been over a year since he had managed to
produce and acceptable painting of cherry blossoms for Sakura. A
great many things had changed since then, but he hoped Sakura would
still like it.

"I
made this made for you while training at Nee-chan's, I hope you
like it," Sakura's expression darkened considerably at the
mention of his time away, but he didn't make much of it.

Instead
of gratefully accepting the gift as Naruto had hoped, Sakura smacked
him across the face. It was no light tap and nearly knocked him off
his feet.

Entirely
confused and somewhat angry, Naruto yelled, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT
FOR!?"

Responding
to the sudden turn of events Hinata ran to Naruto's side, "Are
you okay?" She was stunned at Sakura's actions and didn't
really know what to do.

After
a couple seconds, Sakura still hadn't responded. She was just
standing there with her head bowed. Naruto was about to repeat his
question even louder when she turned to face him. Upon seeing her
face, his anger instantly drained from him to be replaced with
concern and confusion. She was sniffling and her face was streaked
with tears. Between sobs, she asked, "Why didn't tell me you
were leaving?"

Naruto
hadn't thought she would be that upset about it and was too
panicked and bewildered to answer. He still couldn't handle crying
girls.

Fortunately,
Hinata was more composed and answered for him, "We didn't have
time before Nee-chan left." Hinata had always been so envious of
Sakura. She had never stopped to consider how hard Naruto's
absence might be on Sakura.

"He
could have left a note or written."

"I'm
sorry, it was all very rushed and I didn't really have time to
think about it. We weren't allowed to write anyone," Naruto
replied, having recovered enough to speak.

Sakura
had figured that had been the case, but it hurt nonetheless. She
flung herself at Naruto and buried her face in the crook of his neck.
"Baka! I missed you so much."

Naruto
didn't know what to do so he just stood there and rubbed her back
while she cried.

For
Naruto, it seems like an eternity, but for Sakura only a moment
passed. Still sniffling, "You better not abandon me again."

"Of
course, I'm not going to abandon you! You're one of my best
friends right?"

Sakura
stood back from him and wiped the tears from her eyes, "You
promise?"

"I'm
sorry I left without telling you. I can't promise that I'll
always be able to tell you before I leave, but I promise I'm not
going to abandon you."

With
that reassurance, Sakura brightened considerably. "Well let me see
the painting."

With
one hand behind his head and an optimistic smile, Naruto handed her
the painting. "I hope you like it. I'm not really all that good
at painting and stuff." Hugging Naruto, Sakura said, "I love it!
I so glad you're back!" She then turned and embraced Hinata,
"Thanks for taking care of the idiot." After collecting her
plant cuttings, she left the house to Naruto and Hinata. She still
had some work that Tsunade needed her to finish from the previous
night and decided to get going before she started crying again.

Turning
to Hinata, "So do you have anything else to do today," Naruto
inquired.

"Not
really."

This
brought a large smile to Naruto's face, "Good, then I have you
all to myself." He then embraced and softly kissed her.

While
Hinata would like nothing more than to continue, she knew they had a
lot to do. Disengaging from him, she said, "Okay, we need to get
some work done."

Naruto
frowned and crossed his arms in a good impression of a five year old.
Hinata smiled sweetly at him, "If we're fast enough there will
be plenty of time this evening." Motivating him was too easy.

"So
where do you want to start!"

"How
about the kitchen?" Hinata suggested. "Oh, do you think I can
keep some of my things here? I don't have room for it all in my
room."

"Sure,
no problem," Naruto had more space than he knew what to do with
anyhow, "but don't the Hyuga have somewhere to keep all there
stuff."

"Yes,
but my father says it isn't for frivolous things."

Naruto
really hated that man, "Oh, I see." Nevertheless, neither of
them wanted to start a fight with her family so soon after returning.

:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::

Hiashi
sat patiently in the hospital waiting room. He had arranged to meet
with the Hokage that afternoon, but apparently surgery was taking
longer than expected. He really disliked that insufferable woman.
It was not that she was a terrible hokage in general, but she
protected that miserable demon boy like he was her own child. When
the boy was growing up, Hiashi could not help learning about all the
trouble he caused. It seemed like every week he got into trouble.
He even went as far as to deface the Hokage monument! The Kyubi was
obviously affecting the kid's behavior. For a long time, Hiashi
thought the kid would never amount to anything. This was especially
true during his training to become a genin. The kid was simply
terrible at everything. That was what Hiashi had been told at least.
The chuunin exams proved the kid had at least some skill. The true
danger he posed to the village became apparent during the third stage
of the exams when he fought Neji. The Kyubi was not completely
sealed and the kid was accessing its chakra! It was only a matter of
time before the kid succumbed to the demon. He had to be killed for
the good of the village before he became too powerful and that damn
woman simply refused to listen to reason. Stopping the Kyubi a
second time before it killed everyone would probably be impossible.
Even worse, there was apparently some group of very powerful shinobi
trying to capture the kid and take the Kyubi's power for
themselves. She would not even consider sealing the kid while they
looked for a method to dispose of the demon. Both the third and
fourth Hokages had also wanted the kid to have a chance at a good
life. Hiashi could understand that, but he would never have put the
well being of the whole village at risk for one kid. Still, he would
not have the kid assassinated unless there was no choice. He just
hoped it would not be too late by then.

Hiashi
waited for over an hour before the Hokage was finally available. He
understood that medical procedures were difficult and often ran long
than expected. However, it still made him highly irritable. He had
important clan business to attend to and did not have time to be
sitting around.

The
Hokage took him to her private office and Hiashi got to the point
without preamble, "I want Hinata removed from the Jonin tests."

Tsunade
had not exactly expected it, but was not very surprised by the
request either. The man was oppressively heartless. Not wanting
another political annoyance, she decided to be diplomatic, "May I
ask why you are making this request? Konoha needs all the qualified
shinobi it can get."

Hiashi
understood the need for more upper rank shinobi, but the good of the
clan took precedence. He could not afford for the clan to be seen as
week by another terrible performance of his eldest daughter. It was
bad enough that he only had two daughters and Neji was more gifted
than both of them. At least Hanabi showed potential, "She isn't
skilled enough to test for jounin rank."

With
such a lack of support from her father, no wonder Hinata was so
timid. "It isn't for you to determine who is and who is not
qualified to be a jounin. That is why we have the tests."
Tsunade's temper was rapidly rising. That man pushed all the wrong
buttons.

Hiashi
was adamant, "The Hyuga will not allow the weakness
of the current heir to be displayed so publically."

Tsunade
had had enough. Slamming the desk with her hand, she said with a
raised voice, "We need all the qualified shinobi we can get.
Hinata will test for jounin. My decision is final!"

Hiashi
had not expected so much resistance, but the clan could not afford
another major embarrassment. "That is unacceptable. If I have to,
I will order her to resign from the shinobi ranks."

Between
clenched teeth, Tsunade asked, "You dare to defy the will of the
Hokage!?"

"It
is within my rights as the head of the Hyuga clan."

"And
as a shinobi of the leaf it's Hinata right to leave the clan and
not resign," Tsunade smirked. Let the arrogant bastard chew on
that.

Hiashi
was furious. Such a thing was unthinkable and would be an utter
disaster for the clan. Hinata was loyal, but didn't have much
sense when it came to her responsibilities as a Hyuga.
He could not risk her leaving the clan out of some misplaced sense
of loyalty to the village or the Hokage. Maybe there was another way
to stop this before it got out of hand. "Perhaps we could have a
private test just for Hinata. Her sister, Hanabi, is a genin. If
she can't defeat her sister then she certainly can't pass the
jounin test." Hiashi did not want to do this, however he
was confident in Hanabi's abilities. She was far more gifted that
her sister and he had been personally instructing her for years.
Hinata, on the other hand, had not practiced juken for years and
would not be able to properly utilize her blood limit.

Tsunade
found this test somewhat cruel. However, the test was acceptable to
her. If Hinata's capabilities were half as good as Naruto seemed
to think they were Hanabi did not stand a chance, "Fine. When do
you want to do this test?"

The
fight was scheduled for two days later and when Hiashi left they were
both convinced the verbal battle had gone their way.

:::::Author's
Notes:::::

I originally meant to
include a fight scene in this chapter, but decided that it could
wait. I'm not entirely happy with the chapter. Hopefully, I have
caught most of the spelling and grammar mistakes. Nevertheless, I
would appreciate any editing readers provide since I do not currently
have a beta reader. To make things easy for me, you could copy the
text of the chapter, use the "track changes" feature in Microsoft
word, and e-mail me (see my profile) the edited document.

Reviews are also
welcome. I would particularly like feedback on how true this chapter
is to the characters. Feedback on the flow of the story is also very
useful. Of course, I appreciate any constructive criticism.

I could use suggestions
for chapter titles.

:::::Legal:::::

The authors of this
work are not affiliated with the owners of Naruto(TM).All
materials associated with Naruto(TM) are used under the "Fair
Use" provisions of copyright law.

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